


Longing for Love in a Bitter, Stormy Ocean

by betaBird



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Breakup, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:15:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25392967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betaBird/pseuds/betaBird
Summary: A rocky Valentine's day leads to an even rockier encounter between Jay and Nya, as Nya refuses to get her boyfriend a gift. Hurt deeply by her betrayal, Jay confronts her about it, which leads to a downward spiral that ends in heartbreak and, in the end, comfort.
Relationships: Cole/Jay Walker, Nya/Jay Walker
Comments: 6
Kudos: 74





	Longing for Love in a Bitter, Stormy Ocean

**Author's Note:**

> Hey yall! This is gonna be my first time posting a fic on this platform, and I hope it serves this place well.  
> Gonna put a little content warning right here; if you like Jaya, this fic probably isn't for you. It involves a looooooooot of not-so-great talk between the two, but I'll leave it at that. Wouldn't wanna spoil you all, now would I? <3  
> I hope you enjoy this little piece of food! ✨

Valentine's day.  
Jay was, without a doubt, incredibly excited for its arrival. He began thinking of all the gifts he'd get his girlfriend, and even considered asking Kai for help on what exactly would be the _perfect_ gift for her. Alas, he knew Kai was less like a vault of secrets, and more like a public encyclopedia of everything that had ever crossed his mind. So, he resolved to simply guessing what she'd like. It wouldn't be that hard-- after all, Nya was pretty easy to please, so maybe just something small, but heartfelt would do the trick. Jay sighed softly to himself, all the ideas he had swimming around in his head.  
At the same time, though, he was nervous. His anxiety usually got the best of him during important events, but this was... different. This was Nya. The girl he loved with all his heart. He HAD to impress her, no matter what it took. He was just nervous... would it go well? It was only a few short days away, right?  
Jay checked his phone.  
_February 5th._  
"Ahaha... I think I have time to think about it...

...

The day had finally come. Jay didn't just have butterflies, he had an entire swarm. He was absolutely certain the gift he got was _perfect!_ He took out the medium-sized jewelry box, opened the lid, and looked at his gift one last time before seeing it around her neck.  
It was a necklace he was sure she'd love- it had a hand-blown teal glass sea turtle, its shell adorned with tiny glittering emeralds, hung by the tip of its nose on a shimmering silver chain (he made extra sure it was nickel-free! Jay didn't know if Nya was allergic to it, and he wanted to be safe just in case). He smiled at it, and closed the lid of the box. It was pretty expensive, running him as much as he'd earned in the past two months, but he knew it would all be worth it. She'd be so happy with it... maybe finally she'd show him how much she loved him.  
...Right?

So, the time came. With his box in hand behind his back, he waited by Nya's door for her to wake up. It was around 7:30 a.m., which was a time unusual for her to be awake at, so he sat patiently outside her door. His leg bounced at an increasingly rapid rate as the minutes ticked by, and after what felt like an eternity, he started to worry if she'd _ever_ wake up.  
Eventually, though, to his delight, he heard footsteps in her room. His ears perked up and his back straightened out, as he half-nervously, half-excitedly giggled at the thought of finally getting Nya to say "I love you" for the first time. He could barely wipe the dopey grin off his face.  
When he finally heard Nya come up to the door, he bolted up out of his sitting position and whipped around to face the door, beaming with delight and holding the little box behind his back. She opened the door, and immediately Jay sprang into action, nearly tackling her with the force of his hug.  
"Good morning, sweetiiiiiiie~! Happy Valentine's day!" he said, in a sing-songy voice.  
Nya just responded with an awkward laugh and a quiet, "Happy Valentine's day, Jay."  
To her, it seemed like Jay would never let go. But to Jay, it seemed like any amount of time was too short for his embrace to really _mean_ something. But, thankfully for the Master of Water, he broke it off when his attention wandered back to the box in his hands, and he remembered that he was planning on giving it to her.  
"Ah! I- um, I hope you don't mind or anything, but I got you something special!" Jay handed her the box with the enthusiasm of an excited puppy. Nya took the box from him, a little baffled, and opened it. The light from the open window inside her room caught the emeralds on the turtle's glass shell and reflected into her eyes, giving them a nice green glow. Jay folded his hands together, staring in awe at her beauty as she put the necklace on.  
_Oh, it's perfect! It goes stunningly with her outfit, and- ooh! The emeralds really go well with the teal in her gi! The silver in the chain, everything about it is-_  
"Thanks, Jay. I appreciate it."  
Jay was caught a little off-guard by her reaction. It seemed... pretty unenthused. Jay pouted a bit, expecting a little more from his partner, but he didn't let that get to him for very long. After all, Nya wasn't the most emotionally-driven person, not nearly as much as himself. So, he just took it as Nya being grateful, and watched her set the box down on the edge of her bed. He stood there, hands still folded in front of him, waiting patiently for Nya's next move.  
After turning back around and staring at him for a moment, Nya cocked her head in confusion, raising an eyebrow. "You good?"  
"Huh? Oh! I, uh- ...sorry, I was under the impression that-"  
Nya stopped him in his tracks, slamming her open palm against her forehead. "Ohh, _darn!_ I guess I forgot to get you something. I'm really sorry, Jay. I promise it won't happen again."  
Jay stood there in silence. He still had a smile on his face, but it began to fade into the smile of someone with a crushed heart. She really forgot...?  
"It's..." He shook himself out of his daze. "...it's fine! No biggie, haha!" He repositioned himself to leaning heavily on one leg, with his right hand now having a death-grip on his left forearm.  
This wouldn't usually be a problem for Jay. After all, if she had forgotten a gift one time, it would be alright. But the thing was: this wasn't the first time it had happened. He remembered Christmas, just a few months prior, where Nya conveniently forgot to get anyone anything, including Jay. Hell, she'd even forgotten to get him something for his _BIRTHDAY._ But still, Jay never said anything. He always figured that Nya just wasn't a gift giver, and that was that. But this was Valentine's day. It was different. At the very least, she could've seemed a bit more grateful for his gift. Jay felt awful about thinking that, but the more he thought about it, the more inconsistencies he picked up on.  
Nya wasn't just completely disinterested in her gift, but... Jay couldn't help but shake the feeling that she was being sarcastic about her apology. Jay figured at first, _Nya would never do that. She cares about me, I'm sure she's genuinely upset. Besides, I'm not very good at picking up on tone anyway!_ But the more he thought about it, the more it rubbed him the wrong way. So, wrapped up in his own thoughts, he started thinking aloud.  
"Nya... did you actually forget?"  
"Huh?"  
He looked up at her, realizing what had just come out of his mouth. He wanted to apologize and blame it on his brain for being stupid, but another part of him was genuinely curious and wanted to know why she was acting like this.  
So, albeit hesitantly, he continued.

"Y'know, Nya... I understand you're not as, *ahem*, emotional as me, but... I'm just curious- you're not..." he took a deep breath, and mumbled his sentence quickly to get it out, secretly hoping she couldn't understand, "you'renotjustsayingyouforgetaboutgettingmegiftsallthetimeduringholidaysjustbecauseyoudontwanttogetthemeventhoughyouknowhowimportantitistomeright?" Catching his breath, he looked down at the floor, too nervous to make eye contact, as Nya blinked blankly, trying to make sense of the garbled mess of words that had just been dumped on her. After a moment of combing through the details, she managed to pick up what he was saying. Needless to say, she was not happy.  
"Are you- you're not accusing me of _deliberately_ not getting you anything are you? Why would you ever say that about me? I would NEVER!"  
Jay's panic started to set in. He fumbled around in his brain, trying to find the right words to resolve this situation, finally settled on "I'm sorry, but it's happened too often to be a coincidence."  
"What do you mean 'too often to be a coincidence'?! I don't understand what the hell you're trying to say! Are you saying I'm a bad girlfriend, or what??" Nya snapped back, making Jay flinch.  
"Listen! Nya! I know you're upset, and I'm super duper sorry that I worded it wr-"  
"No, I don't give a fuck about your apologies. Listen, Jay. I don't care how cutesy you are about it with your _'oh, i'm SUPER DUPER sowwy! pweeease, forgive meee~~!!!'_ shtick, it ain't gonna work! So why don'tcha just tell me the truth, and tell me straight to my face how you feel for once."  
"Nya, I-..." He paused, trying to collect his thoughts. He didn't know how to respond: he was completely shaken by her forcefulness, both inside and outside, evident by his hands trembling and fidgeting around with whatever they could find.  
Nya wasn't having any of it.  
"Well? Speak up! Use your damn words!"  
That's what made Jay look up. That phrase... he _hated_ it. He couldn't quite put his finger on why, but he HATED it. He kept his cool in his words, but his face twitched the slightest bit out of internal rage.  
"...You want the truth? Fine. Here's the truth." His voice was suspiciously low. It made the hairs on the back of Jay's own neck stand up. He didn't realize he could seem *that* threatening.  
"...Here's the truth," he continued, "I haven't been feeling very- oh, what's the word...- appreciated lately. By you. I've done my best the entire time we've been together, I've been there for you, I've loved you no matter what, and it feels like I get NOTHING in return. Is it just me feeling that way?"  
Nya paused, shocked at how assertive Jay had gotten. But she quickly regained her footing, and bounced back with her usual snarky replies.  
"Jay, you're being too sensitive about this. Just take a breath, everything's f-"  
"No, everything is NOT fine. I'm gonna be honest, I've been meaning to talk to you about this. I know you're not the most expressive person in the world, but it kind of feels like I'm constantly talking to a brick wall with you. I just wish you'd be more open with me, and communicate some things better. I've been lacking in that area, too, and I'm sorry about that. So, can we just... be more open an honest, at the very least? Please?"  
"Well excuse me for not being all lovey-dovey every damn second of the day!" Nya shouted.  
"H-Huh?!"  
"I'm sorry, but if you expect me to constantly go out of my way to cater to your needs, newsflash: it's not happening. I have a life and needs too, you know, and I'm not gonna try to reflect your personality."  
"That's not what I'm asking, I'm just asking-"  
"No, I know EXACTLY what you're asking. You want me to be all soft and sweet and all that bullshit, but it's not happening. I'm not gonna change myself just for your sake."  
"I don't want you to _change,_ I just want some reciprocation for all the work I put into this relationship, is that so much to ask?"  
"Jay, you're being stupid. Of course I feel the same way you do."  
"Then why don't you ever say it?!" He completely ignored her insult.  
"Jay, is there some bigger issue here? Because if you have an issue with me, all you have to do is just say it."  
"Nya, I HAVE been saying it. Aren't you listening?!"  
"Of course I'm listening! And it sounds a lot like you're trying to control what I can and can't say!"  
Jay was about to refute, but he saw it completely pointless. Nya wasn't listening. He sort of suspected something like this would happen, and he knew that if he kept at it, he'd keep running in circles, trying to catch his own tail. So, when he stood down from the argument, Nya continued.  
"If you can't handle the way I am, or if there's something wrong with me, then why don't you just end it off?"  
Jay froze. His shoulders retracted. He felt a horrid chill rush up his entire body. By that point his cheery attitude had already long been gone, but any trace of it left in his spirit immediately fell to the cold floor and vanished in an instant. His eyes started to sting as he held back a gushing flow of tears at even the _thought_ of leaving her. He wanted to say something, ANYTHING, but his voice wouldn't allow it. He was rendered completely and utterly speechless.  
So, Nya kept pressing him for an answer. But Jay was still silent. And he was silent for a long while.

...

Everyone was laughing and having a good time in the courtyard. Kai was laying on the steps, Cole was poised to strike over him with a bucket of cold water, and Lloyd was begging Cole to not do anything he'd regret. Zane and P.I.X.A.L were laughing and smiling together- they were always absolutely adorable during holidays, but nobody liked to admit it. The weather wasn't too horrible for February, either. Everything seemed at peace. The only two people who were missing from the gathering were, oddly enough, the most well-known couple, Jay and Nya. Everyone just assumed they were spending some time alone together. That is, until Nya walked out in a huff.  
"Hey, sis!" Kai called out, not acknowledging anything happening around him. "What's goin' on? Where've you two been?"  
Nya didn't say anything. She just sat on the steps opposite from her brother, as Cole put down his bucket.  
"Where's Jay?" he asked, a little concerned by Nya's look.  
"Oh. He's not worth worrying about."  
Cole stood up straighter, narrowing his eyes and approaching her. "What was that?"  
"If he thinks he can quote-unquote 'change me', then he'll have one hell of a time doing that. He expected ME to get something for HIM! So what if he got me a stupid necklace?! He does this **ALL THE TIME** and I got sick of it. I'm just... I'm done with him."  
"So, you and Jay, you're...?" Lloyd asked, nervous to say the last bit out loud, in case he was wrong.  
"I know. What a shitty time to break up, right?"  
Nya looked around at everyone, expecting sympathetic glances. Instead, she got a few confused looks, and one _very_ angry glare from Cole.  
"What? What are you guys giving me that look for? It was his fault anyway!"  
"Sis, I, uh... I don't know how to put this, but... that was a bit of a dick move." Kai looked up at his sister in disappointment and slight disgust. He couldn't believe that HIS sister, someone he thought was in love with Jay, would give him up so easily.  
"It's not my fault he tried pushing me to do something I wasn't okay with!"  
"Did you communicate that with him? That you weren't comfortable expressing your feelings in the same way he does?" Zane asked, out of curiosity.  
"Well- I, uh, it should've been implied from the very start! I'm not just some damsel in distress who needs someone to love her!"  
At this point, everyone noticed Cole walking into the monastery. When he felt like he was being watched, Cole turned his head to face the rest of them.  
"I'm going to go check on Jay. He's probably not taking this very well."  
He didn't fully turn around. He didn't wait for anyone else's additions. He just went without another word, leaving everyone else there to deal with Nya's blind rage.

Cole wandered through the hallways, calling out Jay's name occasionally. He had no idea where Jay was, and he'd checked pretty much everywhere he thought he'd be except Jay's own room. To be completely fair, Cole knew he should've checked there first, but the rest of the places he wanted to check were along the way, so it took him a little while to reach his destination.  
As he made his way through the hall, at some point he picked up faint sounds of crying. He knew immediately whom those sounds belonged to.  
"Jay..."  
He ran down the hall, scanning the doors with his eyes until he got to Jay's room. He stopped, listening to make sure he'd gotten the room right, and knocked quietly. He heard Jay gasp, then cease to make any noises whatsoever.  
"Is it okay if I come in?" Cole asked, trying his best to keep a reassuring and light tone. He only had to wait a few seconds before the blue ninja was at his door, opening it just a crack and peeking through the gaps. The room inside was almost pitch black, save for a little beam of light finding its way through the tiny gap in the closed curtains.  
"H...Hey, Cole. ...Yeah, i-it's okay..." Jay muttered through short breaths and sniffles.  
Cole didn't hesitate to come inside immediately, wrapping his arm around Jay to make sure he was okay. He knew that's what Jay always needed the most during times like these; they knew each other too well to not know what comforted the other the most.  
Cole turned on his phone flashlight to the dimmest setting he possibly could and pointed it at the ceiling, making a dim light that wasn't overpowering at all but enough so he could, at the very least, see where he was going and not trip on anything.  
"I heard about what happened... I'm really sorry, I came in here to check on y-"  
In that instant, he felt Jay latch onto him and start sobbing. Jay was trying to say things, explain what was wrong, but it all came out as incoherent babble and weeping. Cole didn't mind all that much: he just guided Jay for the both of them to sit on the edge of his bed, and started rubbing his back reassuringly.  
"Hey, hey, everything's gonna be alright. I'm here now, you don't have to worry."  
Jay looked up at his best friend and smiled through violent tears streaming down his cheeks. Cole's warmth was exactly what he needed, and Cole knew it.  
But... at the same time... was he a horrible person for accepting Cole's embrace, even if it was platonic?  
Almost like instinct, Cole picked up on Jay's internal questioning, and the start of a spiral downwards, so he pulled Jay in closer and ran his hand through his hair.  
"It's okay, it's okay. You don't have to think about anything right now. Just do whatever you need to, I'm right here. I'll always be here."  
Cole couldn't exactly tell what Jay was saying with his face completely buried and his voice shaking, but he swore he could hear a soft "thank you so much" in the middle of the unfamiliar slew of sounds.  
He didn't quite know why, but having Cole there was always a huge comfort for Jay's anxiety and panic attacks. Cole was like a comfort person for Jay. He always had a special way of making Jay feel safe and comfortable, it was almost like a calming aura constantly surrounded him.  
Jay still felt bad for everything, but every time he started to descend down that path, the stronger one's touch always kept him grounded in reality. Maybe that's why they called him the Earth Ninja.

It did take some time for Jay to calm down enough to speak, but as soon as he could, he looked up at Cole again, this time with a more gentle and less terrified gaze.  
"Th-Thank you again for all of this. I... I'm not sure how I can ever pay you back..."  
"Ah, don't even worry about it." Cole squeezed him a little bit. It made Jay smile, for reasons completely unknown to him.  
"N-No, really. Thank you. If it weren't for you, I prolly would'a been in the gutter all day, haha!" Jay gave a half-hearted smile, which sort of broke Cole's heart a bit.  
"It's alright. You don't have to pretend to let it roll off your back. Pretty much everyone's in agreement it was a shitty thing of her to do."  
Jay seemed actually shocked at this. "Wait- all of you? She told all of you?"  
"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure Kai's putting her through the ringer for it as we speak."  
Even with as many wrongs as she had done to him, Jay still felt awful for her. And despite it being a long time coming, he still felt guilty and responsible. In the back of his mind, he also felt guilty for even accepting help.  
But, it's okay, isn't it?  
I mean, after all... Nya was the one at fault. And it's always okay to ask for help.  
Were they being a little intimate for any normal pair of friends? Sure, but it didn't mean anything. It's not like Jay would just get over her like that and move on to someone else.  
All of this was completely and utterly platonic, he only enjoyed it in that moment because Cole was there with him for comfort, and that's what he needed.  
Just as friends.

...Right?


End file.
